College Admissions Process for Student-Athletes – Advantages of Early Admissions Policies for the Student-Athlete

Written by: Kim Penney and Danielle Dunn, One-on-One College Consulting

The college admissions process for a recruited student-athlete is naturally accelerated. After completing the Early Read process, a student-athlete can begin transitioning into the application phase. Depending upon the student-athlete’s target list of colleges/universities, there will be a number of different admissions policies from which to choose:

• Early Decision (ED): This is a binding agreement. If the student-athlete applies to a college under an ED admissions policy, the student-athlete must attend that institution and withdraw all of his/her other submitted college applications. A student-athlete would only choose this admissions policy if that particular college/university is his/her number-one choice. Remember:  “D” for Definite.
• NOTE: College coaches of institutions that offer ED admissions policies highly recommend this option. The student-athlete’s main advantage of applying Early Decision is to potentially secure a spot on the varsity roster.   
• Early Action (EA): This admissions policy is non-binding. The student-athlete finds out in mid-December whether or not he/she is accepted and then has until May 1 to make his/her final decision. Remember: “A” for Almost.
• NOTE: College coaches typically do not wait until May 1 to fill their rosters. It benefits the student-athlete to commit soon after they receive their acceptance letter even under an Early Action policy in order to potentially secure a spot on the team.
• Regular Decision (RD): This admissions policy is non-binding. The student-athlete typically finds out in late March – early April whether or not he/she is accepted and then has until May 1 to make his/her final decision.
• NOTE: Unless the institution offers an Early Admissions Option (i.e. ED or EA), recruited student-athletes rarely choose to apply Regular Decision since college coaches like to confirm their incoming class earlier than May 1. 
• Rolling Admission (RA): This admissions policy is non-binding and does not adhere to a strict deadline. Applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received. Therefore, it benefits the student-athlete to apply as soon as they are ready to do so.   

Next BSG Blog Topic (Week of May 6, 2019) – Standardized Testing in the Student-Athlete's College Admissions Process